Contributions Still Welcome and Deadline Extended to November 1, 2021
Resistance in World History: 500 Years Since the Fall of Tenochtitlan
After a three-year struggle, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan fell to besieging Spanish conquerors and their indigenous allies in August 1521. The Inca capital of Cusco suffered a similar fate in 1532, and the last Inca refuge of Vilcabamba fell in 1572. Resistance continued in myriad forms as indigenous peoples became ever more entangled with empire-building and nation-building projects across the Americas and the Atlantic and Pacific worlds in the following centuries. The struggles of indigenous water protectors and land defenders in the face of increasing resource extraction and accelerating climate change have repeatedly gained visibility in recent decades.
Resistance is often understood as the power to stop, or at least slow the momentum of, threatening forces from outside. However, the meanings, practices, and possibilities of resistance can be far more expansive. Contemporary indigenous writers and scholar-activists like Gerald Vizenor (White Earth Nation) and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (Alderville First Nation) have been narrating and theorizing the resurgence of indigenous life, culture, self-governance, and worldmaking. Surpassing what is resisted, resistance and resurgence point together toward what Simpson calls the “flourishment” of people and planet.
The World History Bulletin invites contributions to this thematic issue, which is focused on but not limited to the intersection of indigenous and world histories. We are especially interested in articles that share fresh research; present innovative teaching at all levels; or explore or interrogate valuable archives, collections, exhibits, films, podcasts, and other sources and presentations for community and public history as well as research and teaching. We welcome short interviews with activists/advocates, artists, educators, writers, and scholars and small roundtables on a book or other work.
The extended due date for submissions is 1 November 2021. Please direct submissions, requests for the style sheet, and general WHB inquiries to bulletin@thewha.org.